Keeping Our Promises
Braille Competency Test Now a Reality

by Louise Walch

From the Editor: Louise Walch is the National Certification in Literary
Braille (NCLB) coordinator employed by the National Professional Blindness Certification
Board. In the following article she summarizes the evolution of the effort to
acknowledge and certificate those who demonstrate their competence to read,
write, and teach Braille.

During the 1990s leaders in the blindness field urged
the National Library Service (NLS) to create a test to measure expertise in
dealing with the literary Braille code and to validate the results of the tests
of those who took it. The NLS developed that test but became bogged down during
the validation process. In 2005 they handed the project over to the National
Federation of the Blind, who updated, pilot-tested, and completed validation
of the test’s content. We also conducted some pilot tests. The NFB then sought
an entity to manage the ongoing administration of the test because we were not
interested in supervising test administration permanently, so in 2007 the National
Blindness Professional Certification Board took over the effort and is now conducting
the tests for those interested in achieving this gold standard of Braille Competency.
So, as we said, Louise Walsh now coordinates national certification in literary
Braille testing. She describes the evolution of the test and the exciting future
we can all anticipate for it. This is what she says:

Everyone
interested in the advancement of Braille literacy will be pleased to know that
the long-awaited National Certification in Literary Braille (NCLB) is finally
here. At times such as these, when literacy among blind people is critically
low, we recognize the need to establish some minimum standard of Braille competence
for teachers of the blind. The standard has now been established, the test has
been devised and thoroughly piloted, and the first NCLB certificates have been
awarded with the expectation of many more to come.

The process of testing and certifying literary Braille users has
now been entrusted to the National Blindness Professional Certification Board
(NBPCB). The test materials have been modified only slightly to reflect changes
in purpose and target population. The test has not been substantially changed
from its earlier version administered by the NLS. However, those who now take
the test have the advantage of becoming candidates to receive the National Certification
in Literary Braille (NCLB). All NCLB certificants are entitled to present their
certification to employers and to list the NCLB title as part of their professional
credential.

The test, sometimes known as the National Literary Braille Competency
Test (NLBCT), is used to measure the level of a person’s ability to read and
write contracted literary Braille. Although anyone can take the test, it is
intended primarily for teachers and future teachers of Braille.

This written test is used to measure an applicant’s ability to
read, write, and understand literary Braille. The examination consists of four
sections:

Those who pass all four sections of the exam receive the NCLB
certification. Up to six hours are allotted to take the entire test. A typical
test schedule consists of two test sections in the morning and two in the afternoon,
with several scheduled breaks throughout. Test results are based solely on individual
performance, and the areas covered by the test are basic knowledge in letters
and numbers, contractions, punctuation, composition signs, and formatting. Grading
is based on accuracy. Speed is not currently tested, except that the applicant
must complete the test within the given time. Speed may be tested at some future
point, but as yet no firm plans have been made.

The National Blindness Professional Certification Board was established
initially to ensure that professionals working in the blindness field maintain
high standards. To this end, the question of retesting is one to which the NBPCB
has given considerable thought. Braille is like many other skills; it may erode
over time if it is not being used. If a candidate were certified indefinitely,
the NBPCB could not verify to employers that that person’s Braille literacy
is in fact still current. Thus one change made in the interest of maintaining
high standards is that all certificants will need to retake the NCLB examination
every five years.

The current cost for retesting is $250, the same as for the initial
test because the cost of administering the test is the same. The five-year retesting
policy was established to ensure not only that candidates are competent at the
time of their initial test, but that they maintain this competence throughout
their professional careers. Most people would agree that this is the only responsible
way to ensure that qualified instructors provide Braille literary skills to
children and adults.

Notwithstanding the efficacy of Braille, recent history has seen
a dramatic decrease in Braille literacy. In the mid-eighteen hundreds, when
schools for the blind emerged, Braille was almost inevitably an essential component
of the education of blind children. Throughout the next century or so, blind
children could generally be assured a reasonable education--one which included
basic literacy. At that time everyone recognized that for a blind child literacy
meant reading and writing Braille. Consequently Braille was a daily component
of education for children who attended residential schools for the blind.

In the 1960s education of blind students began to shift toward
mainstream instruction; that is, blind children began to attend their local
public schools. This came about in large part due to overcrowding in the residential
schools for the blind. Simultaneously educators began thinking that blind children
would do better learning in a real-world environment. This might have been true
if blind children could have attended public schools and still have had sufficient
access to education in alternative blindness skills. Sadly the public schools
were not able to provide the necessary Braille instruction for blind children.
They did not have the material resources or qualified staff to teach Braille.
Consequently the literacy rate of blind children declined.

A way had to be devised to improve the literacy situation for
the blind. With so few qualified Braille teachers, large print became the medium
of choice for all blind children with any residual vision. In the midst of such
a crisis, some literacy was better than no literacy at all. This undoubtedly
served to crystallize the presumption that some sight was better than no sight.
Because large print afforded some degree of literacy for those blind children
who could get by using it, the visually impaired child seemed to have an advantage
over the totally blind child in a Braille-starved educational environment. Thus
emerged the current situation in which children who would otherwise have learned
Braille now hunch awkwardly over large print. Rather than enjoying the freedom
and utility that Braille affords, with magnifiers in hand they crane their necks
and strain their eyes while struggling for literacy.

The apparently overlooked factor in this scenario is that Braille
is the great equalizer in literacy for the blind. When a blind or visually impaired
child learns Braille early and consistently, it becomes as useful to him or
her as print is to the fully sighted child. Of course time and consistency are
essential to effective learning. Increasing the number and quality of blindness
professionals is a significant factor in improving literacy rates among blind
students. While we recognize that the existence of a Braille standard will not
itself produce the number and quality of teachers needed, the introduction of
national certification does provide an incentive for teachers to improve their
skills. Thus in the 1980s the NLS began developing the original test on the
recommendation of a joint committee, which included leaders from the American
Council of the Blind, the American Foundation for the Blind, the Association
for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, the Blinded
Veterans Association, the Canadian Council of the Blind, the Canadian National
Institute for the Blind, the National Federation of the Blind, and The National
Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) of the Library
of Congress. For greater insight into the history and need for the test, refer
to “National Literary Braille Competency Test: New Partnerships, New Possibilities”
in the January 2006 issue of the Braille Monitor.

In 2005 NLS officials asked the NFB to take over leading the development
of the test. In 2006 a series of pilot tests was conducted in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Anaheim, California. For more information
on the history and development of the test, refer to “United We Stand for Braille
Competency Testing: Closing the Gap between Dreams and Reality" in the
Winter 2006 issue of the DVIQ and a subsequent article, “A National
Test of Braille Competency Achieve: Where Do We Go from Here?” in the Winter
2007 issue of the same journal.

In March 2007 the National Blindness Professional Certification
Board (NBPCB) learned that the NFB was seeking an organization to carry out
fulltime administration of the test, and its officials stepped forward to assume
the responsibility. The revised test is now in finished form and will be administered
solely under the direction of the NBPCB. Thus the same certifying body that
developed the National Orientation and Mobility Certification (NOMC) now offers
the National Certification in Literary Braille (NCLB). However, unlike the NOMC,
which requires additional immersion training, the only requirement for earning
the NCLB Braille certification is by agreement to abide by the NBPCB Code of
Professional Ethics and to pass all four sections of the certification test.

Since the changeover to the NBPCB, the first full-fledged offering
of the Braille test was held in Ruston, Louisiana, on January 12, 2008. With
eighteen test candidates, the first NCLB test generated more interest than anticipated.
The day went off without a hitch, and throughout the following three weeks a
two-member panel of scorers determined the results. Overall, candidates had
the highest pass rate for the multiple choice section and the lowest pass rate
for the Braillewriter section. Of the eighteen candidates, eleven passed all
four sections. So 61 percent of the candidates passed on their first attempt
and received their NCLB certification. A further four (22 percent) of the eighteen
candidates missed only one section. Thus far two of these four have now successfully
passed that section and have been awarded certification. Three (17 percent)
of the eighteen candidates missed two or more sections. One of these has now
retested and successfully passed all sections. This gives a total passing rate
of 78 percent, with fourteen out of the original eighteen candidates earning
NCLB certification. It should be noted that a new version of the test is administered
to retesters. Those who have missed only one section are given the option to
retest in that single section, while those who desire to retest after missing
more than one section are required to retake all four sections.

A subsequent version of the NCLB test was administered in Ruston
on April 26, 2008, with eight candidates, five of whom were new. The remaining
three were the retesters. As stated above, all retesters passed and received
certification. Of the other five, three passed all four sections on their first
attempt, and the remaining two missed only one section. Thus, after combining
the results of both the January and April tests, fourteen out of twenty-three
(61 percent) of candidates passed all four sections on the first attempt. Six
(26 percent) missed only one section on their first attempt, and only three
(13 percent) missed more than one section on the first attempt. Of those who
have retested, all have passed on the second attempt.

The most recent NCLB exam was held in conjunction with the 2008
NFB national convention in Dallas, Texas. Results are now being assessed, and
we look forward to welcoming a new group of qualified certificants.

A number of exciting things lie ahead for the NCLB. We are working
on collaborations with leaders from different states who wish to help us make
this certification available far and wide. One such team effort is developing
between the NBPCB and Dr. Stuart Wittenstein, superintendent of the California
School for the Blind. We are beginning to make plans to offer one of our next
NCLB exams in California, and we look forward to sharing such opportunities
in the home states of any interested participants. NCLB examinations will be
convened wherever an appropriate venue can be procured and sufficient applicant
numbers make it possible. Please contact the NBPCB for more details.

With the grandfathering of twenty-three certificants from the
2006 pilot, we now have forty current NCLB certificants, and undoubtedly many
more are on the way. Those who meet the criteria for the NCLB are among the
best and most qualified among blindness professionals. We wholeheartedly congratulate
these certificants and indeed all who work toward gaining and maintaining excellence
in their Braille skills. We extend our sincere thanks to all who have diligently
worked to ensure that Braille literacy is central to the education of blind
children and adults. We look forward to assisting all blindness professionals
to reach their goals and to enable all blind people to have the best opportunities
for Braille literacy and success.